Lover Avenged (Black Dagger Brotherhood 7)

The angel didn't seem to tweak to the fact that MTM on Nick at Nite was not like MMA on Spike. Any of the Brothers saw this and Lassiter's ass was going to get spanked.

"Yo, Rhage," Tohr called out to the dining room. "Come see what this Lava lamp is into on the tube."

Hollywood came in palming a plate piled high with mashed potatoes and roast beef. For the most part, he didn't believe in vegetables, considering them "a caloric waste of space," so the green beans that had come with First Meal were noticeably absent from his reheat.

"What's he watching-Oh, hey! Mary Tyler Moore. I love her." Rhage parked it in one of the club chairs next to the angel. "Great clothes."

Lassiter shot a see-I-told-ya in Tohr's direction. "And Rhoda's kind of hot."

The two pounded knuckles. "Feel you."

Tohr went back to his milk shake. "You are both an embarrassment to the male sex."

"Why, because we're not all about Godzilla?" Rhage shot back.

"At least I can hold my head up in public. The two of you should be watching that shit in a closet."

"I don't feel the need to hide my preferences." Rhage arched his brows, crossed his legs, and extended his pinkie from his fork. "I am who I am."

"Please don't tempt with that kind of opening," Tohr muttered, hiding a smile by hitting his straw again.

When there was only silence, he glanced over, ready to keep up the-

Rhage and Lassiter were both staring at him, cautious approval on their faces.

"Oh, for f**k's sake, don't look at me like that."

Rhage recovered first. "I can't help it. You're just so sexy in those baggy-ass pants. I got to get me a pair, 'cause nothing says hotness like wearing what looks like two Heftys stitched together at your racket and balls."

Lassiter nodded. "Totally craptastic. Sign my sac up for some of that."

"You get that shit from Home Depot?" Rhage tilted his head to one side. "In the trash removal section?"

Before Tohr could hit back, Lassister jumped in. "Man, I only hope that I can pull off lookin' like I got a load in my shorts as well as you do. Did you get training? Or is it just a case of lack of ass?"

Tohr had to laugh. "I'm surrounded by asses. Trust me."

"Which would explain why you're so confident going without one."

Rhage tacked on, "Come to think of it, you're actually built like Mary Tyler Moore. So I'm surprised you don't like her more."

Tohr took a deliberate draw on the milk shake. "I'ma put on some weight just to throw you down for that."

Rhage's smile stayed in place, but his eyes went grave. "Looking forward to it. I'm so looking forward to that."

Tohr went back to focusing on the vestibule's door, closing himself up, ending the banter because abruptly it didn't feel right.

Lassiter and Rhage didn't follow the lead. The pair were a Chatty Cathy combo from hell, riffing off each other and whatever was on the TV and what Rhage was eating and where the angel was pierced and...

Tohr would have moved if he could have watched the front door from any other-

The security system let out a beep as the mansion's outer door was opened. There was a pause and then another beep was followed by a gonging sound.

As Fritz raced to answer the summons, Tohr sat up straighter, which was pathetic, considering the shape his body was in. Torso height was not going to magically improve the fact that he weighed little more than the chair his nonexistent butt was parked in.

Qhuinn was the first to stride in, the kid dressed in black, the gunmetal piercings that ran up his left ear and marked his lower lip catching the light. Blaylock was next, dressed all Mr. Preppy in his high-necked cashmere sweater and his slacks. As the pair headed for the stairs, the expressions on them were as different as their clothes. Qhuinn had evidently had a really good night, going by the I-got-laid-and-then-some grin on his piehole. Blay, on the other hand, looked like he'd been to the dentist, his mouth set grimly, his eyes down on the mosaic floor.

Maybe John wasn't coming back. But where would he stay-

When John came into the foyer, Tohr couldn't help it: He rose from his seat, catching himself on the high back of the chair as he wobbled.

John's face had no expression on it at all. His hair was tousled, but not by the wind, and there was a series of scratches on the side of his neck, the kind made by a female's nails. The scent coming off him was of Jack Daniel's, multiple perfumes, and sex.

He looked about a hundred years older than when he'd been sitting by Tohr's bed doing The Thinker mere nights ago. This was not a kid. This was a full-grown male working off a hard edge in the time-tested ways most guys did.

Tohr sank back into the chair, expecting to be ignored, but when John reached the bottom step, he put his boot up and turned his head as if he knew someone was watching him. His expression didn't change at all as he met Tohr's stare. He just lifted his hand in a half-assed way and kept on going.

"I was worried you weren't coming home," Tohr said loudly.

Qhuinn and Blay halted. Rhage and Lassiter shut up. Mary's and Rhoda's voices filled the void.

John barely paused as he signed, This isn't home. It's a house. And I need a place to stay.

John didn't wait for a response, and the set of his shoulders suggested he wasn't interested in one. Clearly, Tohr could have talked until his tongue was worn to a stump about how the people here cared about John, but nothing would register.

As the three of them disappeared up the stairs, Tohr finished his milk shake, took the tall glass into the kitchen, and got the thing into the dishwasher without a doggen asking him if he wanted anything else to eat or drink. Beth, however, was stirring a pot of stew and looking as if she were hoping to slip him a bowl so he didn't stick around.

The trip up to the second floor was long and hard, but not because he was feeling weak physically. He'd f**ked John up but good, and now he was reaping that crop of all the shutout he'd been laying, wasn't he. Damn it-

The crash and holler that came through the study's closed doors sounded like someone had been attacked, and Tohr's body, frail though it was, responded on instinct, hitting the door hard and throwing it open.

Wrath was crouched behind the desk, arms out in front of him, the computer and phone and paperwork scattered as if he'd pushed them away, his chair on its side. The wraparounds the king always wore were in one of his hands, his eyes staring straight ahead.

"My lord-"

"Are the lights on." Wrath was breathing hard. "Are the f**king lights on."

Tohr rushed around and grabbed onto one of his king's arms. "Out in the hall, yeah. And there's the fire. What's-"

Wrath's powerful body started to shake so badly, Tohr had to jack the Brother up. Which required more muscle than he had. Fuck, they were both going down if he didn't get help. Locking his mouth on his front teeth, he whistled loud and long and then got back with the job of trying not to lose hold of his king.

Rhage and Lassiter were the first to come running, and they burst through the door. "What the hell-"

"Turn the lights on," Wrath hollered again. "Someone turn on the f**king lights!"

As Lash sat in front of the granite counter at the brownstone's empty kitchen, his disposition improved greatly. It wasn't that he'd forgotten about the Brotherhood walking off with crates of guns and slayer jars. Or that the Hunterbred apartments had been compromised. Or that Grady had escaped. Or that he had a symphath waiting for him up north who was no doubt cranking out because Lash hadn't gone up there to murder someone yet.

It was just that cash was distracting. And a lot of cash was very distracting.

He watched as Mr. D brought over another Hannaford paper bag. More stacks of bills came out, each bundle secured by a cheapy tan rubber band. When the lesser was finished, not a lot of granite showed.

Hell of a way to get him to calm his shit down, Lash thought as he looked up when Mr. D was finished hauling bags in.

"How much in total?"

"Seventy-two thousand, seven hundred forty. I done bundled it in hun'red-dollar lots."

Lash took one of the banded sets. This was not the neat and tidy currency that came from banks. This was dirty, wrinkled money, liberated from jeans pockets and mostly empty wallets and stained coats. He could practically smell the desperation wafting up from the bills.

"How much product do we have left?"

"Enough for another two nights like tonight, but no more. And there be only two more dealers left. 'Cept for the big one."